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■ By Angela BlackburnOAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF
Always listen to your inner voice — justdon’t answer it out loud.
Oakville’s 43-year-old Laura Andrewsand Marie Borges listened and have, as aresult, overcome breast cancer.
They’ll share their experience with oth-ers at the Canada National Conference forYoung Women with Breast Cancer Nov. 2-4 at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre.
The conference, organized by TraceyGuthrie, another young woman battlingbreast cancer in Toronto, is for youngwomen with breast cancer, under age 45.
Speakers will include Dr. Marla Shapiro,broadcasters Beverly Thomson and LibbyZnaimer as well as workshops and activitiesmeant to inspire including The FashionJourney: Bringing Sexy Back on Nov. 2.
All models in the show are young breastcancer survivors — among them will beAndrews and Borges.
Fashions will include those for wed-dings, sports and the beach — importantlife experiences when you’re young or haveyoung children, and bear extensive scars.
Giggling about the riot that was arecent “tasteful” photo shoot to promotethe conference, Andrews and Borges epito-mize the modern breast cancer survivor.
They speak freely of their ordeal, theemotional roller coaster ride it is, the fearsthey must confront for themselves, andtheir young children, their need for sup-port, coping with medical treatments, fam-ily responsibilities, returning to work, tak-ing responsibility for their medical treat-ment, feeling the toll on their appearance— and the need to deal with it all head onand then move on, wiser, and richer emo-tionally, for the experience.
It’s far from what used to happen whenbreast cancer patients weren’t encouragedto speak of what was happening to them.
For Borges, an Oakville resident whoattended St. James Catholic School and theformer Gordon E. Perdue High School,breast cancer has been scary. She’s a singleparent of 12-year-old Christopher.
“He’s my strength. My life is not myown, he is my strength and he’s why I’mfighting this twice as hard,” said Borges, alegal assistant at a local law firm.
Diagnosed before Christmas last year,Borges had surgery followed bychemotherapy and radiation. She is also
among the 20 per cent of the populationthat has a higher risk for cancer cell growthso she receives a chemotherapy drug treat-ment every three weeks.
It was at her annual physical thatBorges pursued getting a mammogram.Two weeks later she was diagnosed.
“You’ve got to always listen to that innervoice ... just don’t answer it out loud oreveryone will look at you funny,” smilesAndrews.
“I lost a friend at age 40. I watched herbattle breast cancer. It went to her bonesand she had a bone marrow transplant. Iwatched what cancer can do and it was areal kick in the stomach when I got it,”said Andrews.
Andrews, too, had a mammogram andshe, too, was diagnosed. She didn’t needchemotherapy, but had extensive surgery.
Andrews and her husband, Gary, have a10-year-old daughter Victoria and eight-year-old son Brendan.
She was diagnosed in November of2005, not long after her 41st birthday, hadher surgery in December and returned towork in January.
Now, as the ordeal of breast cancermoves behind them, if only recently,Andrews and Borges want to help others.
That’s why they’re involved in theupcoming conference and they speak of alocal support group for young breast can-
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Young breast cancer role models take action
DEREK WOOLLAM / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER
BREAST OF FRIENDS: Marie Borges, left, and Laura Andrews are young breastcancer survivors involved in the first ever in Canada National Conference For YoungWomen with Breast Cancer to be held in Toronto Nov. 2-4.
cer patients — where topics can includeconcerns of younger women.
“Every person who gave me a bit of theirtime, made me feel better,” said Borges.
“People think of cancer as a death sen-tence, but cancer can be beaten. People livewith it, too,” said Andrews.
Andrews said after five years of beingcancer free, life expectancy rises to 80 percent. Borges said she has an 87 per centsurvival expectation.
“That’s pretty sweet,” said Andrews,adding diet can be managed and noting,“The mind can do a lot for your body.”
“I have not even once asked “why me? or
been angry about having breastcancer. I believe this is some-thing I have to go through, aswe all have challenges in ourlives,” said Borges.
“Having had breast cancerhas certainly opened my eyes towhat is really important in thisworld – those we love uncondi-tionally and the beauty thatsurrounds us,” said Andrews.
Sharing the journey is atthe heart of the conference.
“Early detection and takingcontrol of one’s life is so veryimportant,” said Andrews.
The conference will tackleissues such as on which date ofa budding romance do youinform that special person
that, due to a bilateral or radi-cal mastectomy, you have nobreasts? How you can copewith relating to a 30-year-oldfriend’s wedding when you areworried about possibly havingto plan your own funeral? Howmight you windsurf with pros-theses?”
In 2004 the Canadian BreastCancer Network started aresearch project focusing onyoung women with breast can-cer and published a reportcalled Nothing Fit Me. Anational committee was struckand the conference is a result.
For conference details visitwww.youngwomensconfer-ence.ca or call 1-800-685-8820.
